Review: Dead and Company at Lockn'

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Another Lockn’ is in the books!
Here’s my review of Dead and Company’s sets from Saturday (8/25) and Sunday (8/26):

General Observations

Both Saturday and Sunday were solid shows - however, I don’t think either of them really compare to some of the best shows from the summer tour (Autzen 6/30, NY 6/16 and Boulder 7/14 were probably my favorites). Certainly no complaints though – I think that observation speaks more to the fact that they have been playing REALLY well lately, and hopefully are able to carry that momentum into next year. That being said, let’s get to the music!
First, Jeff absolutely came to play this weekend! He consistently provided well-timed riffs, and was really in sync with JM.  I’m hoping they’ll stick together on that side of the stage going into next year. JM seemed a bit more tentative than I’m used to at times, especially during the 2nd set Sunday, but I think that’s understandable with wanting to leave room for Branford.

Saturday Night:

Set One:

Hell in a Bucket  
Scarlet Begonias  
Brown-Eyed Women  
Ramble On Rose  
Alabama Getaway  
Cassidy  
Deal
For me, Saturday had some highs and lows. Unfortunately, I think both Scarlet Begonias and Cassidy sputtered a bit - they felt a little out of sync and both droned on.  

I think Brown Eyed Women, Ramble on Rose, and Deal were all strong - nothing spectacular, but solid stuff. Perhaps not coincidentally, all featured superb work from Jeff!

Hell In a Bucket and Alabama Getaway were both nice surprises - neither were in my normal rotation coming into this set, but now they will be making an appearance!  That’s one of the rewarding things about being a relative newcomer to Dead shows, there’s always that one song (or two) that touches you that you hadn’t fully appreciated yet.

Set Two:

Help on the Way >  
Slipknot! >
Fire on the Mountain  
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider >
Drums >
Space >
The Other One >
Wharf Rat >
Franklin's Tower
First, we were treated to a nice Help > Slip > … wait, Fire On the Mountain? A bit unexpected, but it was a refreshingly speedy version, and always love to hear the Oteil vocals.

 Certainly holding back no favorites with the setlist, we were greeted with a China > Rider.  Neither were particularly notable, but no complaints here!  Space led to a nice transition into The Other One, and then a pretty Wharf Rat.  Then, we finally got the Franklin’s Tower we had been waiting for, and it really delivered! I actually didn’t fully appreciate it live, but it really shined for me on the tape.

Encore:

The Weight
One More Saturday Night
Always love to hear Dead and Co’s version of The Weight (with a customary verse from Jeff!).  And what would a Saturday show be without One More Saturday Night?? Wish it could be a bit faster, always a party though.
Standouts: Alabama Getaway, Deal, Franklin’s Tower

Sunday Night:

Set One:

Playin’ In The Band >
Uncle John’s Band
Loser
Mr. Charlie
Tennessee Jed
Althea
Sugar Magnolia
As expected, the pace was slower than Saturday night, but they had a well-chosen setlist to match.  Playin’, Uncle John’s, Tennessee Jed and Althea are all squarely in Dead and Co’s wheelhouse, and they delivered strong performances to show for it.  Loser really hit the spot for me, JM supplied a simple, focused jam that worked well.  Not a huge fan of the slower Mr. Charlie (certainly wasn’t bad though), and I’ve heard much better/less sloppy Sugar Magnolias from them.  Still, a very strong opening set overall.

Set Two:

Shakedown Street >
Bird Song
Eyes of the World >
Terrapin Station >
Drums >
Space >
Morning Dew >
Not Fade Away
Enter Branford Marsalis!  Going into the set, an Eyes of the World was all but inevitable - I thought an Estimated Prophet was too, but I was wrong on that front.  Shakedown Street ended up being a bit of a snoozer – Dead and Company can honestly pull off some nice Shakedowns, but I don’t think this was one of them (see the first song from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dei2wKZELDU).   Next, Branford led the boys through a gorgeous Bird Song jam – one of my favorites from the night.
Eyes of the World followed - A warning first, if you’re looking for a rendition to live up to Nassau Coliseum 3/29/90, you’ll be sorely disappointed.  However, there was some nice interplay between the band members, including some nifty back-and-forth between JM and Branford. Even though there were some dull moments, I appreciate the improvisational effort.  When things were starting to get a little too spacey, Jeff swooped in and provided a beautiful complement to JM to carry us to the finish. Just when we thought we couldn’t ascend any further, we were graced with a Terrapin (2nd year in a row at Lockn’, let’s make this a tradition!!).  Not a huge contribution from Branford, but still a nice rendition.
I don’t ever re-listen to Drums > Space, but that was the best I’ve heard from Bill and Mickey live.  Always great to see Oteil out there as well! Morning Dew was fantastic - Branford really fit in well and JM delivered another of his full-send solos at the end (he has just been tearing into Morning Dew this summer!!).  Not Fade Away was a pleasant surprise, it gave us another nice JM/Branford back-and-forth, and provided the added benefit of involving the crowd.  It led to an awesome NFA moment as the boys came out for the encore - Branford echoed a riff back and forth with the crowd’s chorus and clapping.

Encore:

Brokedown Palace
U.S. Blues
Ripple
The three(!) song encore absolutely delivered - pretty renditions of Brokedown Palace and Ripple sandwiched a high-energy U.S. Blues.
I really, really, liked the second/encore setlist, it felt fluid while also suiting Branford well.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get my other two Branford favorites besides Eyes - Estimated and Love Light - but hopefully this isn’t the last we’ll see of him with Dead and Company :)
Standouts: Loser, Tennessee Jed, Bird Song, Eyes of the World, Morning Dew




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